Yolo County rally promoted messages of unity in wake of Davis bomb threats, doxxing

Ishani Desai
·2 min read
6

The message behind a rally Tuesday in Yolo County — attended by dozens of elected officials across the region — came through words and action: Numerous speakers moved to huddle around a transgender person as a man interrupted her speech with expletives about gay people.

Roughly 100 people gathered at Central Park in Davis to spread messages of unity and support for the LGBTQ+ community after a series of bomb threats rattled the Davis Joint Unified School District in about a month. The emailed warnings, containing anti-gay rhetoric that were sent to schools and the Mary L. Stephens branch of the Yolo County Library system, came after a Moms for Liberty local chapter held a meeting about transgender people at a library, where the speaker reportedly called trans women athletes “biological males.”

“It was very, very powerful,” Davis resident Kathryn Sylva, 76, said of the rally after it concluded.

The Davis Police Department has said there are no connections between the Moms for Liberty chapter and the bomb threats but “the correlation between the two cannot be ignored as part of the overall criminal investigations,” in a Sept. 25 statement.

Event organizers, consisting of Yolo County advocacy groups, garnered attention after writing a letter denouncing such extremism. It was signed more than 900 including doctors, UC Davis, numerous community organizations, faith leaders and area residents.

Members of the LGBTQ community and supporters stand in unity during a rally Tuesday at Davis’ Central Park after recent bomb threats against the city’s schools and library.
Members of the LGBTQ community and supporters stand in unity during a rally Tuesday at Davis’ Central Park after recent bomb threats against the city’s schools and library.

Attendees noted many of them have been doxxed — a practice of having personally identifiable information such as home addresses disclosed online — after speaking in support of transgender people. The Police Department has said it has turned over its investigation of the doxxing to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office for possible criminal charges.

Kelly Wilkerson, a Los Rios Community College District trustee and an event organizer, recalled the terrifying moments after she learned her personal information had been posted online.

The high school teacher said other educators who have hung rainbow flags in their classrooms have also been targeted and have been pulled out of their homes at 3 a.m. so police could search their homes for explosives.

“Ever since a tiny group of extremists have organized in Yolo County, I have not felt safe and many of my students no longer feel safe,” Wilkerson said.

Unity in the wake of divisive politics is the only solution forward, speakers told the crowd.

“Every breath taken by a transgender person is an act of resistance,” transgender speaker Jessica, who declined to give her last name out of fear of being doxxed. “And, every action you take as an individual to help this community thrive bolsters the strength of that resistance.”

During Jessica’s speech, a man strolled by the rally and yelled a vulgarity at her. However, the rally concluded with no other incidents or disturbances.

Concerned citizens stand together in support of the LGBTQ community at Davis’ Central Park on Tuesday in the wake of recent bomb threats made at city schools and its main library.
Concerned citizens stand together in support of the LGBTQ community at Davis’ Central Park on Tuesday in the wake of recent bomb threats made at city schools and its main library.
A rainbow forms above rally in support of the LGBTQ community in Davis’ Central Park on Tuesday in the wake of recent bomb threats made at city schools and the its main library.
A rainbow forms above rally in support of the LGBTQ community in Davis’ Central Park on Tuesday in the wake of recent bomb threats made at city schools and the its main library.
Speakers line up on stage during a rally at Davis’ Central Park Tuesday to support the LGBTQ community after recent bomb threats against the city’s schools and its main library.
Speakers line up on stage during a rally at Davis’ Central Park Tuesday to support the LGBTQ community after recent bomb threats against the city’s schools and its main library.